This invention relates to a fluorine containing composition with water repellent and oil repellent properties having excellent fixation to fabrics while retaining stability of the composition. In particular, the invention relates to a fluorine containing composition with water repellent and oil repellent properties comprising a copolymer aqueous emulsion with fine particle size of a fluorine containing acrylic monomer (hereinafter the term of "acrylic group" is used to mean a monomer having a methacrylic group or an acrylic group) and cationic water soluble polymer compound.
Resins containing fluorine have been used for textile finishing agents, adhesives and paper finishing agent etc. because of their water and oil repellencies and good resistance against heat and chemicals. In particular, specially aqueous emulsion in which fluorine containing copolymers are dispersed in water are attracting attention because of easy handling and freedom from toxic solvents in textile finishing for the purpose of giving water and oil repellent features.
Applicants have previously applied for a patent (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-264266/1991 entitled "Production Method and Composition of Fluorine Containing Acrylic Group Copolymer Aqueous Emulsion."
The above "fluorine containing acrylic group copolymer aqueous emulsion" has provided good water and oil repellencies with its dried film when it was applied in paints or paper coating processes. However, the same water and oil repellencies could not be achieved when the said fluorine containing acrylic group copolymer aqueous emulsion was used in textile finishing process.
Insufficient fixation of the emulsion to the fabrics is considered to be one of the causes of the lower achievement of water and oil repellencies when the said fluorine containing acrylic group copolymer aqueous emulsion had been applied to textile finishing, even though the emulsion shows excellent water and oil repellency properties if a coating layer is formed.
A fluorine containing component with water repellent and oil repellent properties as an improved water and oil repellent agent is disclosed in the Japanese Kokai Patent No. 3-243685/1991 which is the fluorine containing composition with water repellent and oil repellent properties which is an aqueous emulsion of fluorine containing copolymer with Zeta potential of more than +50 mV.
The patent further discloses two methods of making the Zeta potential be more than +50 mV, namely:
"by having the emulsion contain cationic low water soluble surfactant" and PA1 "by selecting a coplymerizable compound which composes the fluorine containing copolymer having cationic side chains." PA1 (A) a fluorine containing copolymer aqueous emulsion which can be obtained by way of radical polymerization after refining the size of the dispersed particles to under 0.3 microns through an emulsifying process in water using a surfactant of a composition of monomers including: PA1 (B) a cationic water soluble polymer compound.
However, it is worth noting that the cationic surfactant is known to be highly toxic while the introduction of cationic side chains is known to lower the storage stability.
The applicants have studied how to increase the fixing properties of the fluorine containing acrylic group copolymer aqueous emulsion which is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application No. 3-264266/1991 in order to make the emulsion applicable to a textile finishing agent and to provide water and oil repellencies to the finished textile.
Further, it was found that the cationic surfactant was desirable when it was applied to the fluorine containing acrylic group copolymer aqueous emulsion of this invention.
Through a series of hard detailed study and research activities for a fluorine containing aqueous composition having water and oil repellencies, good fixing capability to textile fiber and good stability, the applicants have discovered that a combined use of a cationic water soluble polymer helps produce a composition which is stable and having remarkably improved fixation to textiles thereby imparting excellent water and oil repellencies.